Adjacent Words

Monk definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MONK, n. [L. monachus.] A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion. Monks usually live in monasteries, on entering which they take a vow to observe certain rules. Some however live as hermits in solitude,and others have lived a strolling life without any fixed residence.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work [syn: monk, monastic]
2: United States jazz pianist who was one of the founders of the bebop style (1917-1982) [syn: Monk, Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Sphere Monk]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Thelonious Sphere 1920-1982 American jazz musician

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English munuc, from Late Latin monachus, from Late Greek monachos, from Greek, adjective, single, from monos single, alone Date: before 12th century a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery; also friar II. noun Date: 1843 monkey

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a member of a religious community of men living under certain vows esp. of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Derivatives: monkish adj. Etymology: OE munuc ult. f. Gk monakhos solitary f. monos alone

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Monk Monk, n. [AS. munuc, munec, munc, L. monachus, Gr. ?, fr. ? alone. Cf. Monachism.] 1. A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. ``A monk out of his cloister.'' --Chaucer. Monks in some respects agree with regulars, as in the substantial vows of religion; but in other respects monks and regulars differ; for that regulars, vows excepted, are not tied up to so strict a rule of life as monks are. --Ayliffe. 2. (Print.) A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink. 3. A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine. 4. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthocephalus. (b) The European bullfinch. Monk bat (Zo["o]l.), a South American and West Indian bat (Molossus nasutus); -- so called because the males live in communities by themselves. Monk bird(Zo["o]l.), the friar bird. Monk seal (Zo["o]l.), a species of seal (Monachus albiventer) inhabiting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic. Monk's rhubarb (Bot.), a kind of dock; -- also called patience (Rumex Patientia).

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(monks) A monk is a member of a male religious community that is usually separated from the outside world. ...saffron-robed Buddhist monks. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Cape polecat, abbacomes, abbot, ape, ascetic, bar, beadsman, bear, brother, caloyer, cavy, celibataire, celibate, cenobite, chimp, chimpanzee, coenobite, conventual, conventual prior, coon, ferret, foumart, friar, glutton, grand prior, groundhog, guinea pig, hedgehog, hermit, hieromonach, lay abbot, lay brother, mendicant, misogamist, misogynist, monastic, monkey, mousehound, nun, opossum, palmer, pilgrim, pillar saint, pillarist, polecat, porcupine, possum, prairie dog, priest, prior, quill pig, raccoon, religieux, religious, single, skunk, stylite, unmarried, weasel, whistle-pig, wolverine, woodchuck, zoril